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The big first-night audience for Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special carried over to streaming the week after — giving the show its first-ever appearance on the Nielsen streaming charts.

SNL, which streams on Peacock, notched 863 million minutes of viewing in the United States for the week of Feb. 17-23. That was good for seventh place overall and third among library series. The show has an absurdly large library — 1,109 episodes spanning half a century — but Nielsen notes that 68 percent of viewing for the week was for episodes from the current season, including the anniversary special.

Netflix’s Zero Day and Prime Video’s Reacher finished first and second overall for the week after premiering on Feb. 20. Zero Day held a slight lead with 1.84 billion minutes of viewing to 1.81 billion for Reacher. Love Is Blind (1.42 billion minutes), Bluey (1.05 billion) and Family Guy (1.01 billion) also scored more than a billion viewing mintues.

In recent years, several films have found a second life on streaming platforms after their initial flops in theaters, and Michael Shannon sports drama, Heart of Champions, might just be the latest to join the list. Michael Mailer's 2021 sports drama was added to Netflix on February 17, and it didn't take long for it to climb the streaming charts, attracting viewers who are always on the lookout for something new.

Written by former Columbia University rower Vojin Gjaja, Heart of Champions tells the story of Belston University's struggling rowing team, who had a difficult year after finishing last in the national championship. Additionally, the growing disputes between team leaders Alex (Alexander Ludwig), John (Alex MacNicoll), and Chris (Charles Melton) throw the entire team into turmoil. Just when things seem hopeless, an Army veteran named Murphy (Michael Shannon) takes over as the new coach and the squad begins to unlock their...

Picture: Sky

Happy Friday! Welcome to another rundown of what’s new on Netflix over the past seven days. It’s been a relatively quiet week for new arrivals, but there were definitely a few hidden gems. Plus, Netflix cleared the Original deck for its highly anticipated Robert De Niro limited series, Zero Day. Here’s a look back at everything new and what’s been trending in the Netflix Top 10 this past week.

We should also discuss a couple of re-additions and very quick removals on Netflix this week. Interestingly, Trump: An American Dream was abruptly removed from the service yesterday globally, and after only a day, it’s back, albeit without Netflix Original branding. I have no idea what happened here. It wasn’t scheduled to be removed and from first glance, nothing has changed with it – bizarre. Also, One Piece fans can rest easy; the two specials...

Find out what is fact and fiction when it comes to the story about an Ivy League rowing team in Heart of Champions.

Initially released in 2021 and directed by Michael Mailer, Heart of Champions gave viewers a heartstring-tugging experience that featured Michael Shannon's Coach Murphy (a retired Army veteran) taking over a rowing team that has been losing a lot. However, Coach Murphy changes everything when he approaches things more militaristic.

Sports drama movies usually tend to be based on true stories. Now that Heart of Champions is streaming on Netflix and has become more popular, many wonder if this one is as well.

Read full article on The Direct.

Your favorite streamer and mine is adding over a dozen new shows and movies this week. We are talking about Netflix, right? *Author checks input in AI prompt.* Yep, it's Netflix.

Hello there, happy people. After a couple of weeks of massive amounts of new content, Netflix has calmed down a bit. We'll "only" get a little over a dozen new releases this week. Yay, that's more time to warm up another mug of hot chocolate.

Alright now, here's what you do. Skip that Swiss Miss and Carnation junk. Get yourself a quart saucepan and fill it to within an inch of the top with some rich, full-fat milk. Straight from the farm, if you can. Now chop up a 70 percent cacao chocolate bar, and melt that bad boy into a pot of liquid joy. Toss in some chipotle chilis for the real stuff.

Now, just keep that heat low...

William Fichtner, Emily Hall and Caroline Concannon have joined the cast of the Michael Mailer Films and Tremendous Entertainment film Cutman.

The film is helmed by producer-director/co-writer Michael Mailer.

Cutman delves into the underworld of a retired boxer, played by Fichtner, who grapples with a terminal illness while reluctantly serving as an enforcer for low-level mobsters. Haunted by the memory of his deceased cutman, he suffers until a chance encounter with a troubled junkie, played by Emily Hall, and her daughter, played by Caroline Concannon. He’s then embarks on a journey of redemption and retribution.

Production just wrapped in Buffalo, New York. Mailer, Scott Kluge, Alessandro Penazzi and Jennifer Gelfer produce.

Fichtner is known for roles in Armageddon, Crash, Black Hawk Down and The Dark Knight, and on the TV series Prison Break. Fichtner was most recently seen starring opposite Milo Ventimiglia, Catherine Haena Kim...

A24 is planning to give Civil War, the latest film from Alex Garland, the director of Ex Machina, Annihilation, Devs, and Men, a theatrical release on April 12th – but before that movie makes its way out into the world, A24 and Garland are already moving forward with another, currently untitled war movie. A couple weeks ago, it was announced that Charles Melton – whose credits include May December, Heart of Champions, Secret Headquarters, American Horror Stories, Poker Face, History of the World: Part II, and Riverdale – had signed on to star in the film. Now Deadline has broken the news that Melton is being joined in the cast by Joseph Quinn!

Quinn has over a decade of credits to his name, with roles in Dickensian, Game of Thrones, Howards End, Overlord, Les Misérables, and Catherine the Great, among others, but it was when he played fan favorite character Eddie Munson on...

A24 is planning to give Civil War, the latest film from Alex Garland, the director of Ex Machina, Annihilation, Devs, and Men, a theatrical release on April 12th. A trailer for that film can be seen in the embed above and another one, which just arrived online this morning, can be found at This Link. And while we still have several weeks to wait before we’ll have a chance to see Civil War, Garland and A24 are already moving forward with another project… which just happens to be another war movie. As of right now, the other project is simply known as Untitled War Movie.

This Untitled War Movie is a collaboration between Garland and Ray Mendoza, who served as the military supervisor for Civil War. Garland and Mendoza have written the screenplay together and will be co-directing the film.

The first news of this project was broken a couple weeks ago,...

As of publication, Michelle Williams is understood by many as one of the most gifted actors working today. She has two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, has been nominated for a Tony Award, and boasts a whopping five Academy Award nominations. Her breakthrough performance in "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005 earned her first Oscar nomination, and she's been one of the most highly sought-after performers ever since. But "Brokeback Mountain" was not Williams' first role, nor was she some actor plucked from obscurity and tossed into prestige cinema. For six seasons, Williams starred as Jen Lindley on "Dawson's Creek," one of the most formative teen dramas in television history.

And yet when she nabbed the role of Alma Beers del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain," the general conversation wasn't fixated on her years as a television teen star, nor were people dismissing her casting due to previous appearances in teen films...

April will see a host of new movies and TV show arrive on Netflix.

Alongside film versions of TV shows The Last Kingdom and Power Rangers will be the second season of cult hit Sweet Tooth, and Beef, an intriguing new series from Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.

There is also a music documentary about Lewis Capaldi as well as Brett Morgen’s David Bowie film Moonage Daydream, and a stand-up special from American comedian John Mulaney – not to mention the arrival of a long-awaited season of TV that will make subscripers very happy.

There is a wide selection of titles being added in the UK that aren’t going to be on US Netflix, so below, we’ve signalled where you can find everything.

Find a full list of every movie being removed from Netflix here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

April will see a host of new movies and TV show arrive on Netflix.

Alongside film versions of TV shows The Last Kingdom and Power Rangers will be the second season of cult hit Sweet Tooth, and Beef, an intriguing new series from Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.

There is also a music documentary about Lewis Capaldi as well as Brett Morgen’s David Bowie film Moonage Daydream, and a stand-up special from American comedian John Mulaney – not to mention the arrival of a long-awaited season of TV that will make subscripers very happy.

There is a wide selection of titles being added in the UK that aren’t going to be on US Netflix, so below, we’ve signalled where you can find everything.

Find a full list of every movie being removed from Netflix here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

One of Charles Melton's next roles will be in the upcoming film May December. According to Deadline, Melton has been cast as the lead in director Todd Hayne's upcoming film. Joe (Melton) is a 36-year-old man who is married to Gracie (Julianne Moore). About 20 years ago, Joe and Gracie had a scandalous romantic relationship, when she was his teacher. They are parents to twins who are graduating from high school. Melton is well-known for playing Reggie Mantle in The CW's Riverdale. His other previous work includes Secret Headquarters, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, and Heart of Champions, directed by Michael Mailer.

Emma Roberts and John Gallagher Jr. star in Spencer Squire's horror flick Abandoned. Abandoned follows the sharply intense lives of Sara (Emma Roberts), her husband Alex (John Gallagher Jr.), and their infant son as they move into a remote farmhouse, which harbors a dark, tragic history. As their home’s past is revealed, the mother’s fragility escalates to a state of psychosis that jeopardizes her own safety and that of her newborn son. Directed by Spencer Squire, the film stars Emma Roberts, John Gallagher Jr. (Peppermint), and Michael Shannon (Heart of Champions). I love a little peace and quiet as much as the next person but you'll never find me wanting to live out in the middle of nowhere, specifically...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Saudi-Egyptian co-production revolves around the special bond between a young Bedouin orphan and a camel.

Egyptian director A.B. Shawky, whose first feature Yomeddine enjoyed a buzzy Cannes launch in Competition in 2018, has signed to direct Saudi-set coming-of-age tale Sea Of Sands.

The feature is a joint production between Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, known as Ithra, and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy, whose recent credits include Feathers, Amira and Souad. Ithra’s head of performing arts and cinema Majed Z. Samman also takes a producer credit.

The film revolves around the relationship between a young Bedouin orphan...

Saudi-Egyptian co-production revolves around the special bond between a young Bedouin orphan and a camel.

Egyptian director A.B. Shawky, whose first feature Yomeddine enjoyed a buzzy Cannes launch in Competition in 2018, has signed to direct Saudi-set coming-of-age tale Hajjan (previously titled Sea Of Sands).

The feature is a joint production between Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, known as Ithra, and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy, whose recent credits include Feathers, Amira and Souad. Ithra’s head of performing arts and cinema Majed Z. Samman also takes a producer credit.

The film revolves around the relationship between a...

Grindhouse Entertainment to distribute in North America.

Red Sea Media will handle international sales in Cannes on action thriller The Minute You Wake Up Dead starring Morgan Freeman, Cole Hauser and Jaimie Alexander.

Grindhouse Entertainment is the North American distributor on the project about a stockbroker in a small town who gets embroiled in an insurance scam with a pretty next door neighbour that leads to multiple murders when a host of other people want in on the scheme.

Michael Mailer (Heart Of Champions) directed and Andrew Stevens served as producer.

“Michael’s previous work speaks for itself,” said Red Sea’s Roman Kopelevich.

Exclusive: Jai Rodriguez (Bosch: Legacy) has wrapped a role in Nicholas Stoller’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ rom-com Bros for Universal Pictures. He’s set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Ts Madison, Miss Lawrence, Symone, Guillermo Diaz, Guy Branum, Monica Raymund, Jim Rash, Harvey Fierstein, Bowen Yang, Amanda Bearse, Dot-Marie Jones and more.

Bros is the first romantic comedy from a major studio about two gay men. The film written by Eichner and Macfarlane is billed as a smart, swoony and heartfelt story about gay men—played by Eichber and Macfarlane—maybe, possibly, probably, stumbling towards love. Maybe. They’re both very busy. Pic is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 30th.

Judd Apatow is producing the project alongside Stoller and Josh Church, with Eichner exec producing. The film is a co-production of Stoller’s Global Solutions and Apatow’s Apatow Productions. Universal’s...

Angels With Dirty Faces

Blu ray

Warner Archive

1938/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 97 Minutes

Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, The Dead End Kids

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Released on a Thanksgiving weekend in 1938, Angels With Dirty Faces was a holiday treat with an unexpected punch; it could have been just another morality play dressed up in gangster drag but James Cagney’s powerhouse performance puts it in a class by itself. Cagney plays a rags-to-riches mobster named Rocky Sullivan, a charismatic cock of the walk who treats the tenement sidewalks like a Broadway stage. Long before his scandalous celebrity made headlines, Sullivan and best friend Jerry Connolly were teenaged partners in penny-ante crime until a botched train-yard robbery sealed their fates—Jerry escaped but the usually nimble Rocky was, for once, too slow. While Sullivan cooled his heels in reform school, Jerry went to church and stayed there—now...

Exclusive: Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Yellowstone star Cole Hauser and Blindspot and Thor actress Jaimie Alexander have been set to star in under-the-radar thriller The Minute You Wake Up Dead, which is now underway in Mississippi.

Milestone Studios is producing the film, which follows a stockbroker (Hauser) in a small southern town who gets embroiled in an insurance scam with a next-door neighbor (Alexander) that leads to multiple murders when a host of other people want in on the plot. Sheriff Thurmond Fowler (Freeman), the by-the-book town sheriff for over four decades, works earnestly to try and unravel the town’s mystery and winds up getting more than he bargained for.

Pic is an original screenplay by Timothy Holland, directed by Michael Mailer (Heart Of Champions) and produced by Hollywood vet Andrew Stevens (The Whole Nine Yards). Dawn Bursteen and Alan B. Bursteen of Milestone Studios are executive producers.

Exclusive: Ryan Phillippe, Kat Graham and Jim Gaffigan will topline Collide, a thriller from Vertical Entertainment, Tpc and Robert Ogden Barnum, which recently wrapped production.

The film written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil is billed as is an edge-of-your-seat, noirish thriller where three interlocking stories hurl towards an explosive end. It follows an ensemble of characters whose paths intersect over the course of a single evening inside an L.A. restaurant.

David Cade (Lansky), Dylan Flashner (The Card Counter), Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Aisha Dee (The Bold Type), David James Elliot (Heart of Champions), and Paul Ben-Victor (Daredevil) round out Collide‘s cast. Barnum and Lucas Jarach produced the film, with Daniel Baur, Luke Daniels, David Gendron, Russell Geyser, Rich Goldberg, Peter Jarowey, Ali Jazayeri, Joel Michaely, Rick Sasner, Greg Thompson...

FilmBookCast Ep. 159 FilmBookCast is the official podcast of FilmBook. FilmBookCast is an entertainment news podcast on the latest movie and television show news. Each week, FilmBook contributor Chris Banks discusses that breaking Hollywood news. In FilmBookCast Ep. 159, Chris looks at movie previews including: Night Raiders, from Disney and Pixar comes Lightyear a Buzz Lightyear origin story, and Heart of Champions starring Michael Shannon. [...]

Continue reading: FilmBookCast Ep. 159 – Dune Review, The Witcher: Season 2 Trailer, Walker Shocker, & More...

As inspirational college sports movies go, “Heart of the Champions” doesn’t go, or row, nearly far enough off the beaten path. It’s every bit as boilerplate as its generic title might indicate, distinguished only by its focus on an underdog rowing team rather than the amateur baseball, basketball, football or hockey players usually involved in similar scenarios. There’s just so much even a fine actor like Michael Shannon can do to freshen such stale material, even when he’s given a plum role as a demanding coach who expects the impossible from his young charges. Of course, he might have been able to do more had he also been given more screen time, but, alas, we’ll never know.

The time is 1999-2000, and the place is the fictional Beeston University, an institution of higher learning that desperately needs a new coach after its rowing team finishes...

"Your are gonna learn something that can't be taught in a book or classroom." Vertical Entertainment has released an official trailer for Heart of Champions, a sports drama formerly known as Swing before this release retitle. This recently premiered at the Oldenburg Film Festival a few months ago. The film is about a trouble rowing crew. During their last year at an Ivy League college in 1999, a group of friends and crew teammates' lives are changed forever when an army vet takes over as coach of their dysfunctional rowing team. Michael Shannon stars as Coach Murphy, with a cast including Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Alex MacNicoll, Ash Santos, Lilly Krug, and David James Elliott. This doesn't seem like it has anything new to offer, just another story of a team learning to play together to be better, like so many other sports movies before. And it's produced by the Winklevoss twins,...

Titane, Julia Ducournau’s Cannes-winning second feature, will have its German premiere at the 2021 Oldenburg Film Festival, leading a lineup of independent cinema from Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

Among this year’s highlights are Michael Sarnoski’s Pig, starring Nicolas Cage as a truffle hunter seeking revenge, Michael Mailer’s Swing, featuring Michael Shannon as a Vietnam vet who takes over as a coach of an Ivy League rowing team, and the long-awaited animated feature Mad God from Oscar-winning special effects master Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers).

Both Pig and Mad God will have their German premieres in Oldenburg. Swing‘s Oldenburg bow ...

Titane, Julia Ducournau’s Cannes-winning second feature, will have its German premiere at the 2021 Oldenburg Film Festival, leading a lineup of independent cinema from Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

Among this year’s highlights are Michael Sarnoski’s Pig, starring Nicolas Cage as a truffle hunter seeking revenge, Michael Mailer’s Swing, featuring Michael Shannon as a Vietnam vet who takes over as a coach of an Ivy League rowing team, and the long-awaited animated feature Mad God from Oscar-winning special effects master Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers).

Both Pig and Mad God will have their German premieres in Oldenburg. Swing‘s Oldenburg bow ...

Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to Swing, the indie coming-of-age drama set in the world of elite rowing. Michael Mailer directed and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon stars in the film, which is getting a fall theatrical platform release after a planned festival run.

The screenplay is from Vojin Gjaja, a former armor officer in the U.S. Army who was an oarsman at Columbia University. Set in in 1999, it centers on a group of friends and crew teammates in their last year at an Ivy League college whose lives are changed forever when an Army veteran (Shannon) takes over as coach of their dysfunctional rowing team. Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton and Alex MacNicoll also star along with Ash Santos, Lilly Krug and David James Elliott.

Daniel Dávila, Lucas Jarach, Gjaja, Robert Ogden Barnum, Frank Buchs, Shannon and Byron Wetzel produced Swing, whose executive producers include Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss,...

Gerard Butler’s The Plane has added actors Remi Adeleke, Haleigh Hekking, Lilly Krug, Joey Slotnick, and Oliver Trevena to its cast which already includes Mike Colter, Daniella Pineda, Kelly Gale, and Yoson An.

The Plane follows commercial pilot Brodie Torrance (Butler) who, after a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in hostile territory, finds himself threatened by militant pirates who are planning to take the plane and its passengers hostage. As the world’s authorities and media search for the disappeared aircraft, Brodie must rise to the occasion and keep his passengers safe long enough for help to arrive.

Hekking will play Daniela, Butler’s character’s daughter, who is always looking out for her father. Adeleke will play Shellback, a seasoned mercenary who is tapped to lead a rescue team. Slotnick will play Sinclair, a short-tempered businessman. Krug is Brie, a passenger with a huge social...

Gerard Butler’s next flight is about to get more crowded, as the star’s upcoming action-thriller “The Plane,” adds five to its cast.

Remi Adeleke, Haleigh Hekking, Lilly Krug, Joey Slotnick, and Oliver Trevena have signed on for the Lionsgate movie, joining Butler and previously announced stars Mike Colter, Daniella Pineda, Kelly Gale and Yoson An.

Butler stars in the film as commercial pilot Brodie Torrance who, after a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in hostile territory, finds himself threatened by militant pirates who are planning to take the plane and its passengers hostage. As the world’s authorities and media search for the disappeared aircraft, Brodie must rise to the occasion and keep his passengers safe long enough for help to arrive.

Adeleke joins the cast as Shellback, a seasoned mercenary who is tapped to lead a rescue team. Newcomer Hekking is Torrance’s daughter Daniela,...

I recently reviewed the Black Widow and Hawkeye pack for Atomic Mass Games’ Crisis Protocol, and I remarked at the time that it was the first expansion I had encountered that featured a re-release of a character that existed in the core box. Where Black Widow was concerned, the updated model and character card featured the same alter-ego (Natasha Romanoff) and therefore only one Widow model can take to the field at once. That’s not the case for today’s review, for Spider-Man and Ghost Spider, because this Spider-Man is Miles Morales (compared to the Peter Parker of the core box) thanks to the multiverse storyline. Two Spider-Men (and a Spider-Woman)? Very interesting!

The original Peter Parker Spider-Man from the core box is a pretty tough customer, weighing in at a surprisingly high four threat. Miles Morales Spider-Man costs just three, and both variants have three physical, energy and mystical defence dice.

Exclusive: Eros STX’s Stephan James and J.K. Simmons sports drama National Champions is expanding its thespian team roster with Uzo Aduba, Alexander Ludwig, Andrew Bachelor, David Koechner, Tim Blake Nelson, and Timothy Olyphant.

Based on Adam Mervis’ play of the same name which he’s also adapting, National Champions explores the big business of college sports and tells the story of a star quarterback (James) ignites a player’s strike 72 hours before the biggest game of the year to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.

Aduba will play Katherine, the outside counsel to the NCAA in the Ric Roman Waugh-directed feature. Ludwig will play Emmett, a tight end who joins forces with James’ character as they fight for fair compensation of college athletes just days before the biggest game of the year.

I’ve often been told that I’m not Asian enough. Not white enough. And I question whether I am enough at all. I am conflicted by my racial identities and the trauma that comes with that. In light of the recent horrors, I am compelled to share my story.

My parents met in Korea when my father was stationed there as an Army soldier. My parents fell in love despite the negative connotations attached to their union. Soon after, they welcomed me and my two sisters, Patricia and Tammie. We were born in Juneau, Alaska and spent our childhoods at military bases: Camp Humphreys in South Korea, Fort Hood in Texas, and Stork Barracks in Germany.

For two years, my father was deployed and fought for our country, leading soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He dedicated most of his life to our freedom. I recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Exclusive: Jag alum David James Elliott and Joel Murray (Mad Men) are set for recurring roles opposite Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig in Heels, Starz’s eight-episode hourlong drama set in the outrageous world of independent professional wrestling.

Written by Michael Waldron, with Mike O’Malley as showrunner, Heels is a story about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small-town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack Spade (Amell) and Ace Spade (Ludwig), war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy (Ludwig) and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.

Elliott will play Tom Spade, a former wrestler and proprietor of the Duffy Wrestling...

Exclusive: Michael Shannon is set to join Sony’s action thriller Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt. Joey King, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz and Andrew Koji are also on board.

Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch will direct and also supervise the script, which will be written by Zak Olkewicz.

The film is based on the Japanese novel Maria Beetle by bestselling author Kotaro Isaka. Ryosuke Saegusa and Yuma Terada of Ctb Inc., who represent Isaka and the IP, are executive producers on the project.

Kelly McCormick will produce Bullet Train through 87North, along with Antoine Fuqua. Kat Samick is exec producing and Brittany Morrissey is the executive overseeing the project for Sony Pictures. Plot details are vague and it is unknown who Shannon will be playing as well.

Shannon can currently be seen in Seth Savoy’s Echo Boomers opposite Nick Robinson, Britt Robertson, and Alex Pettyfer.

Tyler Perry is Variety‘s 2020 Showman of the Year. For the full cover story, click here.

Oscar Micheaux, the pioneering Black filmmaker who wrote, directed and produced movies from 1919 through 1948, was a one-man studio — the Tyler Perry of his day. And like Perry, he had to overcome overwhelming odds, systemic racism and many other obstacles to make sure his work was funded and distributed. As Perry tells Variety, “Had it not been for an Oscar Micheaux, there certainly couldn’t be a Tyler Perry.”

So it’s fitting that Perry is planning a biopic for HBO on the 20th-century film pioneer. He says the wheels of development are slow on the project, but “it’s moving forward. Our lives are parallel in so many ways — the way he wrote his books, told his stories, carried his own films to different theaters, and just his tenacity and his believing and investing in himself,...

HBO Max has set the cast for the drama pilot “Red Bird Lane,” with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon set to star.

Along with Sarandon, Kiersey Clemons, Isidora Goreshter, Danny Huston, Ash Santos, Fiona Dourif, Dizzie Harris, and Tara Lynne Barr will also star.

The show is described as a psychological thriller about eight strangers who arrive at an isolated house — all for different reasons — and quickly realize that something sinister and terrifying awaits them.

Sarandon will play the hostess of the house, Catherine. She is brilliant, beautiful, magnetic, and a murderer.

Sarandon is a five-time Oscar nominee, having won the award for best actress for “Dead Man Walking.” She has also been nominated for nine Golden Globes as well as six Emmys. Her other film roles include “Thelma & Louise,” “Bull Durham,” and “The Client.” On the TV side, she recently starred in the critically-acclaimed FX series “Feud.” Beyond that,...

Exclusive: Alexander Ludwig, best known for starring in History Channel’s hit series, Vikings, and Sony blockbuster Bad Boys for Life, has signed on for Night Teeth, the Netflix thriller from director Adam Randall. Mad Men’s Bryan Batt and Knives Out actress Marlene Forte have also been cast, joining the previously announced Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry, Alfie Allen, and Raúl Castillo.

Brent Dillon wrote the screenplay which is about a young chauffeur (Lendeborg Jr.) who picks up two mysterious women for a night of party-hopping across LA. But when his passengers reveal their true nature — and a dangerous underworld lurking in the shadows — he must fight to stay alive.

Unique Features’ Vincent Gatewood and 42’s Ben Pugh and Charlie Morrison are producing the film, while Bob Shaye and Erica Steinberg serve as executive producers.

Ludwig’s credits include The Hunger Games, Sony’s When the Game Stands Tall,...

Exclusive: Minka Kelly has joined Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington and AnnaSophia Robb in the cast of Eytan Rockaway’s (The Abandoned) upcoming biopic Lansky, about the infamous gangster Meyer Lansky, a contemporary of Bugsy Siegel. As previously announced, Keitel plays the notorious Lansky.

Also rounding out the cast are Orange Is the New Black‘s Jackie Cruz, John Magaro (The Big Short) who plays the younger Lansky, David Cade (upcoming Michael Shannon movie Swing) as Siegel, David James Elliot and Alon Aboutboul.

Shooting is currently underway in Alabama, with Voltage Pictures handling international sales at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.

Rockaway wrote the script depicting Lansky in various stages of his life. It’s partially based on his father Robert Rockaway’s interviews with the real-life Lansky, which were part of his extensive research into America’s key crime figures.

Mr. Mercedes star Breeda Wool is set to star opposite Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney, and Ann Dowd in Mass, an indie drama from first-time feature director Fran Kranz. Written by Kranz, the pic takes place in the aftermath of a violent tragedy that affects the lives of two couples in different ways. 7 Eccles Street financed the pic and will produce with Kranz and Casey Wilder Mott of 5B Productions. Wool, who will be co-starring in the Marianna Palka-directed film, Collection, recently recurred on the third season Netflix’s Glow. The Innovative and Bold Management & Production repped actress also starred in the indie feature, Mother’s Little Helpers, which premiered at SXSW.

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Anjali Bhimani has been added to the cast of Universal’s All My Life, the film inspired by the life of Jenn Carter and her husband Solomon Chau. Jessica Rothe and...

Exclusive: Jag alum David James Elliott is set to co-star opposite Michael Shannon and Alexander Ludwig in Swing, the indie drama that follows Ivy League college crew team whose lives are changed in their final year when an army vet (Shannon) takes over as coach of their dysfunctional rowing team.

Elliott will play Mr. Singleton, the school’s athletic director. He holds a lot of power over his son Alex Singleton (Ludwig), and his high expectations for Alex make him go toe to toe with Coach Murphy to get what he wants.

Vojin Gjaja, a former armor officer in the United States Army, wrote the screenplay based on his experiences as an oarsman at Columbia University. Michael Mailer is directing.

Elliott co-stars in Tiff drama The Obituary of Tunde Johnson and can be seen in the upcoming Netflix series, Spinning Out. He’s repped by Link and Gersh.

“Riverdale” star Charles Melton has closed a deal to star in “Swing” opposite Michael Shannon and Alexander Ludwig, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.

Michael Mailer is directing the rowing drama, written by Vojin Gjaja. “Swing” follows a group of friends and rowing teammates during their last year at an Ivy League college in 1999. When an army vet takes over as their coach, their entire lives are changed.

Gjaja wrote the screenplay based on his own experiences as an oarsman at Columbia University. Shannon is also serving as a producer on the film, alongside Robert Ogden Barnum, Lucas Jarach and Byron Wetzel.

Also Read: 'Riverdale' Season 2: New Cast Member Was Told Not to Watch the Show

Melton is best known for his role in CW’s “Riverdale” as Reggie Mantle. He also most recently starred in “The Sun Is Also a Star” opposite Yara Shahidi,...

Exclusive: Alexander Ludwig is getting ready to Swing. The Vikings actor is set to join Michael Shannon for the Ivy League rowing drama.

Directed by Michael Mailer and written by Vojin Gjaja, Swing follows a group of friends and crew teammates in their last year at an Ivy League college in 1999. Their lives are changed when an army vet takes over as coach of their dysfunctional rowing team. Ludwig is set to play Alex Singleton, the team leader who aspires to make the Olympic rowing team. He is described as “cocky and arrogant with a mean streak”. His teammates aren’t too fond of him but he is the strongest rower among them and his father is the school Athletic Director.

Gjaja is a former armor officer in the United States Army and his screenplay is based on his experiences as an oarsman at Columbia University. Shannon, who also serves...

Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) has signed on for a key role in HBO’s pilot about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. Shannon will play Jerry Buss, majority owner of the Lakers during a period highlighted by the team’s Showtime era during the 1980s. The Untitled Showtime Lakers Project (fka Showtime) is set to start production next month.

Written by Max Borenstein (Godzilla), the project is based on Jeff Pearlman’s nonfiction book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. Executive producer Adam McKay is directing the pilot, which chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties — a team that won five NBA titles and defined its era, both on and off the court.

Shannon’s Jerry Buss is a self-made millionaire whose success has only amplified his proclivity for risk. Buss redefines American sports,...